This is not a fair comparison however. Gasoline is taxed at the state and federal level while Ethanol is subsidized.
Recalculate the chart on a level playing field eliminating taxes and subsidies and then we can discuss the superiority of Ethanol as a fuel.
Good article.
Thanks for making me aware of this odious bill!
I WILL contact my congressman, in opposition.
The true cost of alky fuel are clearly manipulated in this article, they do not reflect the true expense.
Not only are the tax’s and subsidies not mentioned, neither are the inefficiencies of alcohol production.
The real agenda here is clearly to force all older cars off the road, screwing around with our fuel could do that pretty quickly.
I will NEVER own a “Flex-Fuel”, “Hybrid” or Electric” car, I’m keeping my pre-computer fossil fuel cars for life, the subsidy hungry alky lobby can kiss my @$$!
I got an 07 Cobalt with the same 2.2 engine, gets 28-29mpg. runing on methanol could cause a fuel efficiency drop of aroung 18-20%, according to this article. Right now regular gas is just under 3.30/gal in NJ. So, in theory if they sell the stuff for less than 2.60 it may be a good tradeoff. When I first bought it I had the dealer replace the stock exhaust with a Goodwrench low-res exhaust system. It wasn’t cheap but it actually added about 2 extra miles/gal. I got 125k on it already, still runs and looks good as new, so I recovered that cost long ago. It’s well worth it if you don’t mind a little bit of that good old-fashioned glass-pack rumble ;)
Romney Vs. Gingrich on Jihad and Sharia: A Yawning, if Unappreciated Gap
Fire Sale on Electric Cars! The NRO source was loaded with links.
Some noteworthy articles about politics, foreign or military affairs, IMHO, FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
I think methanol is the future, but the environazis hate it because it is made from coal or natural gas. Ironically it is the easiest (cheapest) liquid fuel to produce and there are so many ways to make it, some are very long term like coal. I’m not a AGW sucker. But it is simple economics, Gasoline is going to continue to increase in price faster then inflation, and so will oil. China and India are increasing demand, and there is just not an infinite supply.
But coal will probably stay steady with inflation for a long time.
Coal can be converted to methane (natural gas), which can be converted to methanol. The price on this process will not go up ether.
Yes it isn’t quite as dense of energy as gasoline, but luckily weight isn’t a huge deal and its possible to stop and refuel. Not like airplanes, which needs to use kerosene and there is no substitute. So it makes sense to save some oil for jets and start powering our ground transport with coal products.
And if you are an enviro, or we still havent come up with anything better and use up almost all our coal 500 years from now, you can make methane from any plant matter. Just let it rot!
James Woolsey also supports this guys methanol ideas. Methanol as home grown energy is far superior to taking our corn crop and making part of it into ethanol. Plus can make methanol from coal and natgas which is even better.
“Since methanol averages less than half the price of gasoline”
We buy 100% methanol in 55 gallon drums for a racing application. Not sure where this guy buys his but our cost is well above the pump price of reg. unleaded.
Methanol is extremely corrosive. Any contact with bare aluminum produces a mucky gel that clogs up the fuel system. Actually, saw a competitor struggling with a fuel problem for weeks to finally discover that they were using an aluminum funnel to refuel the car.
Also, in racing applications it takes almost twice the volume of methanol to produce the same results gas. Then there is that little problem of methanol being hygroscopic; water doesn’t burn very well.
Personally, I’ll pass on performing weekly maintenance, including oil changes, on my daily driving and yearly engine rebuilds. Bring back real gasoline!
Methanol also has another interesting possibility.
It is possible (though present technology is in it’s infancy and therefore extremely inefficient) - but it IS possible to make a reversible fuel cell. Use methanol to generate electricity, or given an abundance of electricity, use the fuel cell in reverse to make methanol out of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
It makes a lot more sense than ethanol, except on the weekends.
The nanny-staters would have the vapors and scream bloody murder that *teenagers* will be killing themselves by the MILLIONS by having 109 Octane Fuel in their cars.
There'll be drag races by VW Beetles from every stop light. And *kids* will think they're Tony Stewart and drive their Ford Focus like every curved road is Talladega (All Hail Talladega! Bow you peasants, bow).
They're all irresponsible(1) ya know!
(1) But those irresponsible 'kids' can join the Military, be given an M4 and kill the enemy at will, and that's okay. 'Cause those same nanny-staters aren't doin that killin which keeps themselves safe. And free to go on yapping.
Methanol is also called wood alcohol, being as it was distilled from wood. It is very poisonous, one sip can cause blindness and three sips can kill a man. It is used in Indy 500 race cars.
Ethanol is also called grain alcohol. It is distilled from the sugars in food: grains, corn, rice, potatoes, wheat, grapes, etc. It's what humans have used as a relaxing or intoxicating beverage for as far back as we know.
The modern ethanol industry is what we conservatives and libertarians despise as a prime example of crony capitalism, delusional "green" science, and government over-meddling.
The Methanol Industry is older and more established than the Ethanol distillers, fuel wise. But then the Methanol Industry aren't the super crony capitalists that the Ethanators are.
Extremely provocative article.
If the demand for methanol increases, so will the price. I like the fact that methanol is used as a race car fuel already, it means that there is a hugh baseline of practical experience.
There are several flaws in this article.
First is air/fuel ratio. Gasoline is normally used at approximately 14:1 air to fuel, by weight. Methanol is normally used at approximately 6:1 air to fuel by weight.
This means either your carburetor jets or your fuel injectors need to be MUCH larger to allow proper flow.
The author mentions methanol’s effects on Viton, but neglects its effects on other components in cars. Also, methanol is hygroscopic, meaning it sucks up water, causing corrosion.
Methanol is a great fuel in a properly engineered system. But change one seal and go is a recipe for disaster.
Ethanol ‘draws water’ while it is standing in your tank. Condensation will kill your efficiency in short order.
Such ‘water in the fuel’ is a source of rust for metal parts, along with the aforementioned problems with gaskets, etc.
The fuel lines in cars- both current & older are not compatible with Ethanol, either. Replacing them with STAINLESS STEEL lines is the only thing that works.
Ask the manufacturers of fuel pumps for racing. They are facing this problem daily.
Methanol is much more hazardous to humans than even gasoline. And it is not cheaper.